


Love Letters

by wackyjacqs



Series: Bizarre Holidays [246]
Category: Stargate SG-1
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-04
Updated: 2020-09-04
Packaged: 2021-03-06 15:35:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,101
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26291257
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wackyjacqs/pseuds/wackyjacqs
Summary: “I don’t know, Carter,” Jack says as he leans over her shoulder and takes the single piece of A4 paper from her hands, “I’m thinking of getting it framed.”
Relationships: Samantha "Sam" Carter/Jack O'Neill
Series: Bizarre Holidays [246]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1234973
Comments: 42
Kudos: 120





	Love Letters

**Author's Note:**

> Written for ‘Letter Writing Day’ (01 September). Set post-series.

“I don’t know, Carter,” Jack says as he leans over her shoulder and takes the single piece of A4 paper from her hands, “I’m thinking of getting it framed.”

She laughs softly and turns to face him. “Really?”

“Oh, yeah,” he says, only half-joking, “because the next time the President calls me back, all I gotta do is point to _this,”_ he adds as he waves the page around, “and say no.”

She crosses her arms across her chest and gives him a placating smile. “You’d really say no? _To the President?”_

Without warning, Jack reaches out with his free hand and wraps it around Sam’s arm before he pulls her against him.

“For this,” he murmurs as his gaze roams over her face, “you betcha I’d say no.”

He leans in and captures her lips with his and they soon start to get lost in the kiss. When Jack moves his hands to Sam’s hips, he hears the sound of paper crinkling and he reluctantly pulls away. They both glance at the slightly creased page in his hand and smile.

“We’ll frame it,” Sam says decisively as she takes the page from him. “Where do you want to keep it until then?”

“There’s some paperwork in there,” he says, nodding towards a cardboard box in the far corner of the room. He watches Sam cross the room before he asks, “Coffee?”

She agrees and she’s soon left alone in Jack’s home office to continue sorting through some of his items. She crouches down to put the letter in the box but glances at it one more time. It’s Jack’s letter from the Air Force – and signed by the President – officially confirming his resignation.

She shakes her head in amusement and lifts the lid to place it inside only for something else to catch her attention. She frowns and sets the letter down before turning back to the contents of the box. She knows she has no business looking, but she lifts out a half-dozen pages, studying them. They are all on official Air Force and SGC letterhead, and the content of the letters are virtually identical. The only discernible difference Sam can see are the dates.

_July 2000._

_May 2002._

_February 2003._

_January 2004._

_February 2005._

_April 2007._

“Here you –”

Jack stops abruptly as he re-enters the study and sees Sam staring at the pages. He doesn’t ask her what’s wrong; he knows what she’s found.

They are all letters of resignation – and all of them are written and signed by Jack O’Neill.

He sets their coffee on the desk and winces. “I, ah, forgot they were still in there.”

“Why are there so many?”

She doesn’t turn around to face him but he hears the confusion in her voice.

“Didn’t you ever get tired of being chased by the Goa’uld every week?”

_“Jack.”_ She slowly turns to face him. “I’m being serious.”

“So am I.”

“What’s the problem?” he asks instead. “I’m retired _now.”_

“But you tried before?”

“Hey, I was retired before you were even assigned to the Program,” he mutters dryly. “The Air Force _wanted_ me back. I didn’t _want_ to go back – initially.”

“Are there more letters?”

He shrugs and hopes it comes off as nonchalant and carefree, but he has a sneaking suspicion that Sam can see right through him and he starts to feel uncomfortable. Ever since they started a relationship of a more personal nature, they both made an agreement to try and be more open with each other and actually try to talk about the things that are bothering them, rather than shutting down and pushing the other away. He also refuses to lie to her. He sighs heavily.

“Yeah, there were more.”

“Why?”

He shrugs and as his discomfort grows, Sam simply raises her eyebrows. He knows he’s not going to get away with not answering.

“Don’t get me wrong,” he says as he sits down on the edge of the desk, “I loved the job. Being on SG-1 and stepping through the gate every week… it was pretty special. But I’d be lying if I said there weren’t times when I wondered if it was really worth it.”

He holds his breath as Sam studies the pages in her hand again and he spots the moment she makes the connection. The letters align with events that involved her; whether she was hurt or upset or missing in action.

_The Za’tarc detector._

_Daniel’s ascension._

_Nirrti’s DNA Resequencer._

_Prometheus._

_Jacob’s death._

_The Ori staff weapon._

When Sam hastily wipes a tear away, Jack’s brow furrows and he reaches out to pull her to him.

"You wrote these because of me?”

“Yeah.”

“Did you ever –”

“Yeah.” He grimaced. “Well, some of them anyway. Hammond always rejected the request.”

“But –”

“I can understand why he did,” he interrupts, then smiles sadly, “but don’t think I didn’t fight him over it.”

“Why?” she asks quietly.

He huffs out a laugh. “Sam, I was the one who killed Ra and put Earth on the Goa’uld radar. Hammond knew that too – but he also knew me too well.” He shrugs when she frowns. “I may be many things, but I was never going to abandon SG-1 to fight a war I started.”

She cants her head as she studies him. He doesn’t look away; instead, he concentrates on the pattern his thumb traces against the small of her back.

“So, I kept fighting alongside you all and when times were hard, it was my reminder that there was always something else I was fighting for. Something more important than the fight with the Goa’uld ever was.”

“And what was that?”

“You.”

Sam closes her eyes at his words and whispers, “I’m sorry.”

“Hey,” he murmurs as he gets to his feet and urges her closer, “none of that. We’re here now; that’s what matters.”

“All those years –”

“– are years that we were still able to be together. I was able to be by your side every day; whether on the field or a team night or lunch in the mess hall.” He pauses and waits until she meets his eye, “and I wouldn’t change those moments for anything.”

“You wouldn’t?”

“No,” he says, “not if it brings us to here.”

She smiles softly and Jack uses the opportunity to press a kiss to her lips. “I love you, Carter” he whispers.

“I love you too, Jack,” she says, resting her head on his shoulder. He wraps his arms around her and presses another kiss into her hair as he holds her tight.

He really does love retirement.

**Author's Note:**

> I’m still having to type, edit, and upload these via my phone (so I apologize for any formatting issues), but my laptop is awaiting repair. 
> 
> Long story short, half of the keyboard is missing and/or broken.


End file.
